Platform: Academic Essay
Status: Unpublished
Pre-conformed Social Gender Roles with Virginia Woolf’s Essays and the Yellow
Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman
The Yellow Wallpaper is a recognized literary piece, which brings to light many feminist
issues that women face at the time, primarily their right to life dictated by their own
choices, being taken away, while men were allowed to do as they pleased. Virginia
Woolf, though not a self-proclaimed feminist, has highlighted feminist issues in her book
of essays, where she attempts to figure out the reason for the differentiation of gender and
emphasizes the problems faced by women as well. Gilman and Woolf can be regarded as
pioneers or crusaders of feminist literature.
The story draws a vivid comparison of the husband and wife, and what kind of lives they
lead while being in a relationship. The husband, John, is a distinguished doctor who is
away for much of the time, leaving his wife to servants and his sister, in a big house.
While the husband is busy all day, the wife or the narrator lazes around her room all day,
with absolutely nothing to do. Her illness and hysteria has left her with a lot of time on
her hands to just rest and get better, as prescribed by her husband. She is in fact, always
in a room that she had despised from the very beginning because of despicable wallpaper
that she had hated the sight of. This typical relationship portrays the completely different
lives that men and women lead, where the public sphere is carved out for the domination
of men, and the women are forcibly trapped in their own home with domestic chores, or
worse, if they are wealthy, nothing much to do in their big mansions. Woolf’s depiction
of Shakespeare’s imaginary sister Judith creates a similar image of the lack of
opportunities offered to women. Even if they dare step out into the public sphere they are
shunned and end up in terrible situations, like Judith ending up pregnant and taking her
own life. Women are depicted to be just objects for marriage and family-making, and are
taught from an early age that, that is their entire role and goal in life; to be a good wife
Status: Unpublished
Pre-conformed Social Gender Roles with Virginia Woolf’s Essays and the Yellow
Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman
The Yellow Wallpaper is a recognized literary piece, which brings to light many feminist
issues that women face at the time, primarily their right to life dictated by their own
choices, being taken away, while men were allowed to do as they pleased. Virginia
Woolf, though not a self-proclaimed feminist, has highlighted feminist issues in her book
of essays, where she attempts to figure out the reason for the differentiation of gender and
emphasizes the problems faced by women as well. Gilman and Woolf can be regarded as
pioneers or crusaders of feminist literature.
The story draws a vivid comparison of the husband and wife, and what kind of lives they
lead while being in a relationship. The husband, John, is a distinguished doctor who is
away for much of the time, leaving his wife to servants and his sister, in a big house.
While the husband is busy all day, the wife or the narrator lazes around her room all day,
with absolutely nothing to do. Her illness and hysteria has left her with a lot of time on
her hands to just rest and get better, as prescribed by her husband. She is in fact, always
in a room that she had despised from the very beginning because of despicable wallpaper
that she had hated the sight of. This typical relationship portrays the completely different
lives that men and women lead, where the public sphere is carved out for the domination
of men, and the women are forcibly trapped in their own home with domestic chores, or
worse, if they are wealthy, nothing much to do in their big mansions. Woolf’s depiction
of Shakespeare’s imaginary sister Judith creates a similar image of the lack of
opportunities offered to women. Even if they dare step out into the public sphere they are
shunned and end up in terrible situations, like Judith ending up pregnant and taking her
own life. Women are depicted to be just objects for marriage and family-making, and are
taught from an early age that, that is their entire role and goal in life; to be a good wife
